# The Most Distant Course (最遥远的距离)
*The Most Distant Course* (最遙遠的距離) is a 2007 Taiwanese road film directed by Lin Jing-jie (林靖傑), his feature-film debut, about three alienated Taipei residents, a heartbroken sound recordist, an office worker in a dead-end relationship, and a troubled psychiatrist, whose paths converge on Taiwan's east coast through tapes of recorded natural sounds[1](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956). It won the Best Film award of the International Critics' Week at the 64th [Venice Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/venice-film-festival) and the Best Sound award at the 2007 Golden Horse Awards[2](https://www.tfai.org.tw/program/movieDetail/2c9580828f762edb0190c95c8bf402a4).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director, debut | Lin Jing-jie (b. 1967, Kaohsiung), first big-screen feature[3](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/14/4400-the-most-distant-course) |
| Production | Taiwan, 2007, 35mm color; Mandarin and Taiwanese dialogue[2](https://www.tfai.org.tw/program/movieDetail/2c9580828f762edb0190c95c8bf402a4) |
| Cast | Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) as Yun, Mo Tzu-yi (莫子儀) as Tang, Jia Xiao-guo (賈孝國) as A-tsai[1](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956) |
| Major awards | International Critics' Week Best Film, Venice 2007; Golden Horse Best Sound 2007; 9th Taipei Film Festival Special Jury Award[2](https://www.tfai.org.tw/program/movieDetail/2c9580828f762edb0190c95c8bf402a4) • [4](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/article/9285) |
| Dedication | Closing title card reads "Dedicated to Chen Ming-tsai" (獻給陳明才)[5](https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/183030/post/200709130033/) |
| Release | Taipei Film Festival opening film June 22, 2007; Taiwan theatrical release November 2, 2007[4](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/article/9285) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The film follows three Taipei urbanites who are emotionally and spiritually adrift[1](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956).
Xiao Tang (莫子儀) is a young sound recordist dumped by his girlfriend. To salvage the relationship he travels to Taitung, collecting soundscapes of the island, recording his own confession, and mailing tapes labeled "Sounds of Formosa" to her apartment. She has already moved out, and the tapes reach Yun (桂綸鎂), the new tenant, an office worker suffering in a relationship that has no way forward. Hearing the sounds reawakens her, and she sets out to trace their source[1](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956) • [2](https://www.tfai.org.tw/program/movieDetail/2c9580828f762edb0190c95c8bf402a4).
The third figure is the psychiatrist A-tsai (賈孝國), who can pierce the souls of his patients but cannot treat his own wounds, trapped in an unhappy marriage. He abandons his job for a road trip, and he falls in with Xiao Tang along the way[1](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956) • [6](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/most_distant_course.htm). The three converge on the east coast, where parallel journeys of self-discovery lead toward a path that intersects[7](https://www.netflix.com/tw-en/title/70134548). The [Karlovy Vary](https://www.edgepedia.org/karlovy-vary) festival program notes that isolation is not treated as negative but as a space for self-reflection and painful discovery of who the characters are, and that the film avoids perfunctory or simplistic solutions[3](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/14/4400-the-most-distant-course).
## Sound as the organizing device
Sound is the thread that links the three characters and the film's signature: the soundtrack is built from recordings made by the sound engineer within the story, and reviewers singled out the handling of sound, insects, surf, and natural ambience, as the film's strongest component[3](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/14/4400-the-most-distant-course) • [8](https://movie.douban.com/review/1379687/). Director Lin deliberately omitted conventional background music, which one reviewer noted departs from ordinary viewing habits[9](https://specu.pixnet.net/blog/posts/2016356761). The Golden Horse Award for Best Sound at the 44th ceremony on December 8, 2007 reflected this emphasis; the jury citation noted that the film, built around a sound recordist's story, "lived up to expectations" in taking the award[10](https://taiwancinema.bamid.gov.tw/InfoNew/PrintFrameContent?ContentUrl=55861).
## Making of the film, and the dedication to Chen Ming-tsai
The film began as a project for a friend. Lin Jing-jie and Chen Ming-tsai (陳明才), a theater figure celebrated for writing, directing, and acting who had left the mainstream arts scene, were close friends. After the 921 earthquake, Chen spent over half a year helping survivors rebuild psychologically while sinking into depression himself; Lin invited him to Green Island, a former prison island for political dissidents, to clear his mind. The two discussed the project at length, and Lin completed the screenplay in 2002, writing the role-playing, manic-depressive psychiatrist specifically for Chen to star in[11](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E6%9C%80%E9%81%A5%E8%BF%9C%E7%9A%84%E8%B7%9D%E7%A6%BB/2376346?fromModule=lemma_inlink).
The film received a government guidance grant from the Government Information Office and was scheduled to shoot in 2003. In August 2003, before production began, Chen took his own life by entering the sea. Lin was badly shaken, shelved the project for three years, and spent the time organizing Chen's manuscripts into a book. He eventually concluded that the best memorial was to finish the film, and cast Chia Hsiao-kuo (賈孝國) in the role written for Chen[11](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E6%9C%80%E9%81%A5%E8%BF%9C%E7%9A%84%E8%B7%9D%E7%A6%BB/2376346?fromModule=lemma_inlink). From conception in 2002 to completion in June 2007 took five years; the film closes with the title card dedicated to Chen[5](https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/183030/post/200709130033/). The Taipei Times reviewer judged Chia's performance "slightly theatrical for the role originally written for Chen"[1](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956).
## Reception and festival run
The film premiered as the opening film of the 9th Taipei Film Festival on June 22, 2007, where advance tickets sold out by the end of May; it took the festival's Special Jury Award. In September 2007 it screened in the Venice International Critics' Week, winning the Best Film award, and it later played the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, and Pusan International Film Festival, followed by Karlovy Vary in 2008[4](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/article/9285) • [12](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1094291/releaseinfo/) • [2](https://www.tfai.org.tw/program/movieDetail/2c9580828f762edb0190c95c8bf402a4). In July 2009, Lin won Best Director for the film at the 6th Rome Asian Film Festival[13](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/contenthistory/189991760.pdf).
Critical response divided along predictable lines. *The Taipei Times* called it one of the most talked-about art-house films of the year, noting its high-profile cast led by Gwei Lun-mei, while finding the plot predictable and the contrast of gloomy city and soothing nature formulaic, yet concluding that the movie "does touch viewers' hearts"[1](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956). The lovehkfilm review described a slow, sometimes contrived but involving and moving road trip with fine acting and a lovely portrait of Taiwan's sights and sounds[6](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/most_distant_course.htm). Chinese-language critics praised Gwei Lun-mei's natural performance and the director's assured camera work, while a Southern Metropolis Daily critic quoted in Baidu noted that general audiences found the "no plot" narrative hard to follow, calling the film a companion piece to *Island Etude*[11](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E6%9C%80%E9%81%A5%E8%BF%9C%E7%9A%84%E8%B7%9D%E7%A6%BB/2376346?fromModule=lemma_inlink).
The film is also placed in a larger context: producer Peggy Chiao (焦雄屏) cited it, alongside *Island Etude* and others, as an early sign of the 2008 wave of locally rooted Taiwanese films, noting that both films resemble documentary and travel writing[14](https://www.infzm.com/contents/21622?source=124&source_1=84445).
## Versions and availability
Reported runtimes differ across sources: the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute lists 113 minutes for its 35mm print, Karlovy Vary lists 114 minutes, and several international listings give 118 minutes[2](https://www.tfai.org.tw/program/movieDetail/2c9580828f762edb0190c95c8bf402a4) • [3](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/14/4400-the-most-distant-course) • [6](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/most_distant_course.htm). The film was listed as unavailable for streaming in the United States, last offered on Amazon Video from January 2015 to November 2016[15](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-most-distant-course). A 2023 Chinese television series shares the Chinese title 最遥远的距离 but is a separate, unrelated work[16](https://www.cpophome.com/the-furthest-distance-zhang-yunlong-zhong-chuxi/).
## References
1. [Sojourns in search of self, Taipei Times, November 2, 2007](https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2007/11/02/2003385956)
2. [The Most Distant Course, Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute program page](https://www.tfai.org.tw/program/movieDetail/2c9580828f762edb0190c95c8bf402a4)
3. [The Most Distant Course, Karlovy Vary International Film Festival archive](https://www.kviff.com/en/programme/film/14/4400-the-most-distant-course)
4. [最漫長的旅程, 放映週報](https://funscreen.tfai.org.tw/article/9285)
5. [林靖傑 與夢想零距離, 今周刊, September 13, 2007](https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/183030/post/200709130033/)
6. [The Most Distant Course review, lovehkfilm](https://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/most_distant_course.htm)
7. [The Most Distant Course, Netflix catalog page](https://www.netflix.com/tw-en/title/70134548)
8. [看不懂的沉悶（最遙遠的距離）影評, Douban](https://movie.douban.com/review/1379687/)
9. [〖電影〗最遙遠的距離, 思維的交錯點](https://specu.pixnet.net/blog/posts/2016356761)
10. [第四十四屆金馬獎公佈得獎名單, 台灣電影網](https://taiwancinema.bamid.gov.tw/InfoNew/PrintFrameContent?ContentUrl=55861)
11. [最遥远的距离（2006年林靖杰导演电影）, 百度百科](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E6%9C%80%E9%81%A5%E8%BF%9C%E7%9A%84%E8%B7%9D%E7%A6%BB/2376346?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
12. [The Most Distant Course (2007) release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1094291/releaseinfo/)
13. [2009 Taiwan Cinema Yearbook](https://file.moc.gov.tw/001/Upload/OldFiles/AdminUploads/contenthistory/189991760.pdf)
14. [全民"焖"电影, 南方周末, December 24, 2008](https://www.infzm.com/contents/21622?source=124&source_1=84445)
15. [The Most Distant Course streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-most-distant-course)
16. [The Furthest Distance (2023 drama), CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/the-furthest-distance-zhang-yunlong-zhong-chuxi/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2007 to 2008 › Released in 2007*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license